Why can a phone call make you talk louder?
On a call, you hear the other person through a device while hearing your own voice through a mixture of air, your body, and sometimes electronic feedback. Change that feedback or add background noise, and your speaking level may change too. Experiments on vocal intensity help separate those effects from the simple assumption that distant listeners need louder speech.
Questions you could explore
- What would happen if your own voice sounded quieter to you while the listener’s voice stayed the same?
Start reading
- Journal of Speech and Hearing Research / PubMedThe influence of selected masking noises on Lombard and sidetone amplification effects
The abstract reports experiments that varied masking noise and amplified self-voice feedback separately.
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